The River of Time
by Jiia-chan
Summary: The river of time will always flow in one direction. No matter what eddies swirl it back around, no matter how it splits and converges and splits again, what has happened will always have been. What we feel will last forever, even if we don't. Shink angst


Hiya! Jiia-chan here. This is my first Zelda Fanfic, or at least the first one I've thought good enough to put up. . Hints of Shonen-Ai, but nothing much. Reviews and criticisms much appreciated! Now, onto the story! Oh, wait, I need a disclaimer.

Disclaimer- I don't own squat. I don't even own my computer, let alone anything from Legend of Zelda. Other than my Ganny plushie. In any case, if I owned Legend of Zelda, Sheik would be Zelda's long-lost half-brother and Sheik and Link would go riding off into the sunset at the end instead of what happened. Yes. I'm done now.

Onto the story! Again!

Link looked out across the gleaming waters of the Zora River, leaning against the balcony of Hyrule Castle. He had left behind the bustle and cheer of the celebration to stand out on this balcony, painstakingly restored to the gleaming white marble it had been before Ganondorf took over. He knew that this would all be gone tomorrow. He knew none of this would have ever happened. And so did they. But that didn't stop them from restoring their castle town to its former glory.

The wide glass doors opened for a brief second, letting in a torrent of laughter and conversation from the happy people. He wished he could be like that. He wished he could laugh and talk without thinking of all the horrors of the last seven years. He looked over his shoulder to the newcomer, and felt something like a smile pull at his lips.

Sheik looked as uncomfortable in the finery of the Hylian court as he did. It was so strange, seeing the Sheikah in a formal navy blue silk shirt instead of his regular uniform. Although he must have looked just as strange, what with the several pounds of medals the kingdom had decided to weigh him down with. He was surprised the white shirt the princess had had made for him didn't rip under the weight of all those stupid awards.

The blonde-haired man walked over to the balcony and looked out over the restored peace of the land. It was strange seeing his face, but definitely not unpleasant. He could understand why the sages had made Sheik hide it. He didn't need to be distracted by thoughts of his beautiful guide.

Link turned his blue-eyed gaze to the river once more, hoping that the darkness and his long hair would hide his flushed cheeks. It would do no good to think such thoughts now. Sheik wouldn't even exist in two days. Link sighed.

"Is that regret I hear, oh mighty hero?" The Sheikah asked, amused. For a moment, Link couldn't help but stare as the cool breeze blew Sheik's long hair into his face, the golden strands obscuring his deep crimson eyes and brushing across those pale, upward-curling lips. Once again shaking the unwanted thoughts from his head, Link tried to focus on the conversation, as it were.

"No. I mean, what is there to regret? None of this will have ever happened. Ganondorf will have never taken over, and we…" Link cut himself off, once again turning away as he felt his face flush once again.

"Will never have met." Sheik finished, also turning back to the sparkling river. The moon shone off his hair, turning it to a cascade of molten silver running down his shoulders. Link had had no idea that his hair was so long. Then again, he had no idea that Sheik had such soft, smooth lips, or that when he smiled, his eyes sparkled like this moon-lit river. Link focused on the river.

"Link, look at me." The Sheikah's voice was so soft, he barely heard it above the commotion coming from the seemingly-far-away party. He slowly turned his eyes back to the handsome man. Red eyes met blue, and Link found himself unable to look away, even though his face was burning.

"Link, time is a river. It has eddies and whirlpools, and rapids and places where the water goes so slow it's almost still. It forks off in different directions and converges again. It always flows one way, however. Tomorrow, this world will be sent back to the past. Things can be done right. However, the things that happened here will always have happened. You and I will always have stood here in the moonlight. That will never change, no matter if we don't remember it. No matter if we never meet, no matter if we never become friends. This-" Sheik's hand softly brushed the side of his face in a way that made his heart jump. "-will always have been."

The thought was strangely comforting. They stood there for a long moment, Sheik's hand slowly falling back to his side. Sheik slowly smiled, his moonlit-blood-river eyes shimmering.

"Come on. We should get back before the Hylians start a search party for their long-lost hero." Sheik offered his hand, and Link took it. Together, they walked back into the hustle and bustle of the princess' party. After all, none of them would be here in the morning.

Well? How was that? You likey? Please send nice reviews! It was kind of short for what I usually do, but I wanted to do a cute little fluff one-shot. Domo Arigato Damikun for being my beta!

Happy days to you all!

Jiia-chan


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